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“I’ll go with you to the dinner,” he assures me before flicking his gaze between my mother, who’s just found a seat in the front row, and me. The panic on his face looks like he hasn’t even taken a second to think about what the rejection has done to me.
I sit back, arms crossed over my chest. I want to tell him to fuck off, that it’s a year and a half overdue, but I can’t really do that, can I?
My phone buzzes, and I peer down. It’s from Nathan. I’m proud of you.
I smile.
Your mom’s a bitch.
I smile even wider.
“What’s so funny?” Sean asks.
I quickly tuck my phone away. I don’t need to explain to my mate why Nathan is texting me uplifting words. It just so happens that my friend is a badass, sexy as fuck, honorable shifter while my mate is a spineless dick.
And that only skims the surface, honestly.
“Nothing,” I tell him. “Just a meme.”
Alpha Richard steps up to the podium, then. We give him a round of applause, and for a brief, sparking second, I feel like I belong again. Here I am, back in Daybreak, sitting amongst my peers. All together like this, the thrum of pack is heavy in the air, settling over my skin in a sweet coat of belonging—something I could easily cuddle up with.
It doesn’t matter that I’m not dressed like them. It doesn’t matter that I was forced to wear this to stand out. The palpable connection between all of us is still there.
It’s just too bad that I’m sitting next to the wrong person to enjoy it to its fullest.
I turn my head, peering around Sean to find Nathan already looking at me. Our gazes meet for the briefest of seconds, and it’s like a piece clicks into place.
This is what’s right. I know it.
14
I wave bye to Alice as she walks hand in hand with her mate away from the cabin. I’m happy for her, but I also kind of want to shift and tear her head off. I’m one thousand percent sure that makes me a bad person. Or maybe just someone who’s fucking fed up with everything.
Tonight is the party Sean invited me to. We’re actually all going. Nathan and Gayle, too. The former nudges me with his elbow, and I peer up to find him giving me a look. The look that says he’d rather be dragging me up the stairs to hold me down on the bed and fuck me.
Or maybe that’s my imagination.
In this cabin, on Daybreak land, Nathan and I have never felt more right. If I can only forget about the whole fate pairing me with someone else part, I’d jump in with two feet and never look back.
Which is exactly why I want to tear Alice’s head off. Why does she get a mate who accepts her? Why is the same person who wants her also the one she is paired with? Sure, it took them a while, but it wasn’t a year plus.
“And then there were four,” Nathan remarks. The rest of us make unintelligible sounds of agreement.
I feel them all next to me. The dread, the hope, the all-around suck. Robbie has been looking pretty sullen lately. But Trish, the other female wolf, sounds like she’s gaining on her guy. Who knows how many of us will be left after this trip?
Last night, Nathan feasted between my legs again. He said he wanted to make sure he left a lasting impression before I go on my date. And boy, did he. Maybe it’s the forbidden aspect that makes it so damn hot, but I honestly don’t think so. Nathan and I just click.
“Three days in,” Trish says.
My stomach starts to knot. If we’ve been here for three days, I’m five days into my fourteen-day deadline. Nine fucking days.
Nathan reaches out and nonchalantly teases his fingers with mine. When she looks around, he pulls his hands back, and I immediately miss them. He must feel the strain, too. The silent ticking sound of the second hand becomes like a bass drum in our heads.
Tonight isn’t just about my date with Sean. It’s about spying on Sean and Gayle, too. People let loose at these kinds of things. If he and Gayle slip, we’re going to take them down.
Sean’s had enough chances to save me. As soon as I told him they were going to make me go Feral, he should’ve called Greystone up and told them he accepted me. If he cared about me even a little, he would’ve saved me. He’s the only one who has that power.
At this point, I kind of want to approach Sean and Gayle and tell them they can be with each other. I don’t give a shit. It works in my favor as long as for all outward appearances, it’s Sean and me, and Gayle and Nathan.